Russia Says Will Not Discriminate Against Gays At Olympics

Russian Olympics Chief Alexander Zhukov on Wednesday (August 14) said Russia would be able to guarantee that there would be no discrimination against gays at the Olympics in Sochi.

Critics of the new law, put into place this year, have said it effectively disallows all gay rights rallies and could be used to prosecute anyone voicing support for homosexuals. President Vladimir Putin also banned same-sex couples from adopting children.

Zhukov, however, insisted that athletes would not face discrimination at the Games.

"There will be absolutely no discrimination at Sochi based on race or matters of gender. We can guarantee this, and this fully meets what is written in the Olympic charter," Zhukov said at an event to commemorate the anniversary of Moscow hosting the 1980 Olympics.

When asked by a reporter whether athletes who waved an LGBT flag at the Winter Games would get in trouble, however, Zhukov refused to go into detail about the consequences of the law.

The ban has led some to call for a boycott of the Sochi Games. U.S. President Barack Obama has voiced his concern while Puerto Rican IOC presidential candidate Richard Carrion has spoken strongly against the legislation.

Putin has made Sochi a top priority for Russia to help its image abroad by propagating it as a modern state with top-notch infrastructure.